Claudia Gordon’s obelisk (artist, Jeff Whipple) was donated to, and dedicated at Glenmoor Retirement Community this Friday, the 15th, at 4:00 pm. It was installed south of the Club House. The outdoor “ceremony” was brief because of a bit of rain– ribbon-cutting and a few words by Claudia and by Bruce Jones, Glenmoor’s CEO. Then the attendees went into Crichton Hall for a brief program, a few introductory words by James Vande Berg, about artist selection and assignments, also some words by Cabeth Cornelius, lastly a few words by the artist, Jeff Whipple, followed by snacks and refreshments.

First Coast.TV went to visit Carol Kazounis, to tell us all about confetti Easter Eggs. She showed us how she puts them together and gave us some samples. We tried them at the end of our video, and we can honestly say, they are lots of fun. You can get hands on them through her website www.theconfettieggs.com or at Hot Shot Bakery on 8 Granada Street.

The St. Johns Cultural Council held the eighth annual ROWITA Celebration Ceremony on March 13 at 5:00p.m. at the Limelight Theatre located at 11 Old Mission Avenue.

The free event was an evening of celebration and recognition of the seven women chosen to receive the 2016 Dr. Gail Pflaster ROWITA Award for their achievements and contributions to the arts in St. Johns County. The winners of the Jr. ROWITA Fellowships were also recognized (Cassia Wang). A short reception followed the program.

Joe Lemmon uses wood to make beautiful pieces of furniture. He uses wood the that would otherwise end up as garbage, wood that sometimes is 100’s of years old, dipped in history, and sadly discarded from demolition sites. Once he gets a hold of it, he molds that wood into these wonderful pieces that you see here. First Coast.TV got a chance to speak to him, while opening for the first time the doors of his small showroom on 233 West King Street, St Augustine, FL. We wish him all the luck in the world.

Children gathered at the St Augustine Amphitheater to create art on the panels of a 15 foot Obelisk, these children came from different organizations, such as, Betty Griffin Center, The Players Championship Boys and Girls Club, Kids Safe Zone, St. Augustine Youth Services, St. Paul School of Excellence, The Arc of St. Johns, the Academy of Business and Leadership Education and St. Augustine Public Montessori School.

Last year’s project was a mix of work from local students (28 obelisks) and another 25 obelisks — at 8.5 feet tall — designed by area artists and later showcased at Flagler College’s Crisp-Ellert Art Museum. One of the student pieces was even chosen as the official gift of the City of St. Augustine to King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain during their September visit.

The goal of this year’s project, according to Compassionate St. Augustine, is to “engage children from diverse backgrounds and with wide-ranging aptitudes and exceptionalities in discussions about the intrinsic values of the 1812 Spanish Constitution Obelisk on St. Augustine’s public square.”

Caren Goldman, executive director of Compassionate St. Augustine, said the collaboration of children with such different backgrounds made for an impressive piece of art.

In addition to adding to the inclusiveness of the work, the other main goal for phase two was to make it a model for other cities to copy. It wouldn’t necessarily be an obelisk art project but a similar art project that fits with the history and character of that community.

Vilano Beach’s Dressing of the Palms offers an unusual holiday lights display with a special St. Augustine-style quirky charm.

Artists of all kinds — residents, schools, business groups and community organizations — show off their artistic skills and imagination as they decorate the 200 palm trees that line the streets of Vilano Beach’s Town Center. The decorating period rans from October 31 until November 22, 2015. The trees will remain decorated through the end of the year 2015. First Coast.TV took photos of some these lovely palms and other photos were provided by Carol Ann Sacha Martin.

Prizes for the best decorated palms were awarded December 5th at the first Saturday Vilano Beach Sunset Celebration.

More than 150 artists from around the USA were juried into this Thanksgiving Weekend art festival that took place at Francis Field behind the St. Augustine Downtown Historic Parking Facility located at 10 West Castillo Drive in St. Augustine. This premier outdoor art fair is a Thanksgiving tradition that attracted thousands of visitors, discerning art collectors and savvy holiday shoppers. The event helps support the Art Association programs, while animating the local arts scene and boosting the economy of the nation’s oldest city. The festival was sponsored by the St. Augustine Art Association and took place Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The exhibit is on display in the Rotunda Gallery 500 San Sebastian View StreetSt. Augustine, FL

November 3, 2015-January 21, 2016

Crealdé’s newest documentary project celebrates the oldest city in the United States. Ten photographers captured the oldest city in the nation on the occasion of its 450th anniversary, exploring St. Augustine’s history, preservation efforts and place as a tourist destination. Led by Peter Schreyer and Sherri Bunye, a master class produced the project from January to April 2015. Featured photographers: Laura Barthle, Sherri Bunye, Vaughn Dunham, Dennis James, Holly Manus, Jennifer Pereira, Marsee Perkins, Peter Schreyer, Cynthia Slaughter and Kucku Varghese.

From Peter Schreyer, Senior Faculty in Photography and Executive Director of Crealdé School of Art:
The idea to do this project first came to me when touring the beautiful El Galeón, an exact reproduction of Ponce de Leon’s ship handmade in Spain, docked in the marina of St. Augustine almost two years ago. I immediately texted my colleague Sherri Bunye and announced the idea, and asked her to partner on this new class project for Crealdé. Of course, she enthusiastically said “yes,” and a few weeks later we started planning for this new master class in documentary photography. It was an obvious choice for a new Crealdé project. When were we ever going to geographically be so close to another such important historical milestone – and such a visually beautiful one!

The exhibit is on display in the Rotunda Gallery 500 San Sebastian View StreetSt. Augustine, FL

Between January and April 2015, Sherri and I had the pleasure to work with a group of eight advanced Crealdé student photographers to create and produce this exciting project. Before the start of the on-site fieldwork in St. Augustine, the participants learned about the important history of documentary photography, toured local historical archives and learned about project planning and caption writing for a contemporary documentary project. Our objectives were to capture in classical black-and-white images and accompanying oral histories, the city of St. Augustine as a living historic community, a model for historic preservation, a tourist destination, college town and home to a diverse population. Students were assigned specific topics, but also were given the freedom to add their own themes to the project.

During numerous field sessions, day trips and overnight stays in St. Augustine, all of us grew closer to this beautiful city, and discovered many fascinating elements of its history and most recent challenges.

The exhibit is on display in the Rotunda Gallery 500 San Sebastian View StreetSt. Augustine, FL

As the City of St. Augustine celebrates it’s 450th Anniversary the Gullah Geechee Group hosted the 1st Mende Culture and Film Festival. This festival is to honor those unique Africans known as Gullah Geechee who settled on the shores of St Augustine in 1565 and to highlight those Gullah Geechee many of whom self emancipated to St. Augustine 150 years before the Civil War settled communities such as Fort Mose (1738) and Lincolnville and Armstrong (1866), after the Civil War. These 3 communities are in St. Johns County, Florida. The festival is being held in October to coincide with Governor Scott’s Gubernatorial Gullah Geechee Proclamation, which the Governor issues every October and has for the last 4 years highlighting the rich history and culture of these unique Africans known as Gullah Geechee who settled many Maroons communities and established some of the first militias protecting La Florida.
The festival had the Gechee Gullah Ring Shouters perform, basket weaving and other arts. Many films related to the Mende topic were showed to a packed audience. The festival continues in Miami & Ft Lauderdale. FL in January 2016.